| Three dimensional (3D) auditory displays have been studied for use in aircraft environments but their use in other domains has received less scrutiny. Their application for dismounted infantry use in urban operations was studied using a virtual reality simulation of a simplified urban environment. Three conditions were examined: stereo, generic head related transfer functions (HRTF) without head tracking, and free field. Soldier performance, situation awareness and workload were evaluated. Little evidence of benefit from increased auditory display fidelity was found. Lack of head tracking was found to lower situation awareness and increase the frequency of head movements when coupled with the HRTF condition, most noticeably in subjects with low field independence. Psychological constructs of field dependence/independence were found to have significant effects upon situation awareness, head turning and shooting performance. |
